Secrets in the Ashes
by Dreamwriter116
Summary: Katiness Everdeen,we all know her story.But what if that wasn't all?Someone has been keeping secrets,someone we thought to be dead is alive,and someone nobody ever thought to exist must now team up with katiness to save the districts, is it too late?


It's six o clock when I run over to the door. He should be home any minuet now. I can't wait to see him again, he's been gone all day. So I plop myself down on the floor and wait. The minuets drag by slowly, and before I know it, a half an hour has gone by. He is still not home. At seven, my mother calls me to dinner. She is worried, I can tell. "Katiness, eat your supper while it's still warm," she tells me. "But mom, we're supposed to wait for dad to get home." I protest. "No buts Katiness. Your father is just running a little bit late. Now eat your food," she directs. I pick up a fork and begin to eat. Prim, being as small as she is, copies me. But despite what she tells us to do, my mother hasn't touched her food. She still has a worried expression on her face. What could be keeping him? My father has never been running this late before. Still, he should be home soon.

About halfway through dinner the doorbell rings. "Dad!" I cry running to the door. I turn the handle and throw the door open, expecting to see my father's smiling face under layers of coal dust. But it's not my dad. Instead, I find a group of peacekeepers at my door. "Where's my father?" I ask them softly as my mother approaches the door. She looks terrified when she sees them. "Where's Phoenix? Where is my husband?" she asks them. There is fear in her voice, I can tell. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs. Everdeen, but your husband was killed in a mining explosion this afternoon." the head peacekeeper tells her. My dad, dead? No, he can't be dead. I look up at my mother, expecting her to tell them he is just running late, that he's probably gone to the store to pick up some flowers or his hunting in the woods, but she doesn't. Instead, I find her eyes widened with fear and welling up with tears. I am just about to get up the nerve to tell these peacekeepers to leave us alone, when they turn to me. "Katiness Everdeen, you are now the oldest child of the family. We would like you to come with us to the city hall to receive a metal of Valor in your father's place. After that, you will take up the duties of the eldest child. No, this can't be happening, this can't be happening. I look back up at my mother, expecting some sort of reaction, some protest, or a reassuring smile. Instead I find nothing. My mother was gone the minuet those words left the peacekeepers lips. He is dead. My father. He is dead.

**3 hours earlier**

Today there are a few things on my mind. Ruth is one of them. Her long blonde hair, her blue eyes, her sweet smile, I remember these things in particular today because 13 years ago on this very day was the first time I laid my eyes on her. I remember how beautiful she was and how she was unlike any other girl I'd met. She deserved better than me, I always told her so. Any boy in town could have given her a nice home with expensive foods and clothes and fine china, nice furniture, and a secure life. What could I give her? A small 3 roomed apartment, a tough life, and coal dust. I didn't deserve her, I still don't. But she loves me anyways, and I love her. We have been married for 12 years now.

The other thing on my mind is our children. We have two beautiful daughters living with us right now. Our youngest is seven, named Primrose after Ruth's favorite flower. She takes after her mother so much, both in looks and at heart. Our oldest is Katiness. She looks so much like me, Ruth tells me that all the time. She is a survivor too. Ruth wasn't to sure about it the first time I took her to the forest, but she let me anyways. I've shown her how to hunt and fish, and how to do some basic traps. Ruth, being a healer, showed her all about plants. We make a good team, Ruth and I, and so I know my daughter will make it too. Growing up in the Seam is tough; she can make it through that. It's the Hunger games I worry about; for both of them.

Every year, 24 children are taken to the Capital and 23 are killed for the capital's own amusement. I hate it, I always have, and I swear that I will never let our children go to the games. Not as long as I'm alive. I have a plan. I've been working on it ever since we found out Ruth was pregnant. I have to be careful, that's why it has taken so long. I haven't told Ruth about it either; the less she knows the better. If things go badly, I want to be the only one who is punished.

I've heard rumors, rumors that have been stirring up around the districts. The Hunger Games is suppose to be punishment for a rebellion that happened hundreds of years ago. The Capital destroyed District 13, leaving the rest of us to suffer under their rule. But District 13, that's what the rumors are about. Ever since I heard about it, I have been saving up. I have saved up empty bottles and iodine tablets. I've collected cloth blankets and pillows, feathers to make a feather mattress, food spices and long-lasting preservers. I've saved up oil and a few old lamps, matches, and wood, everything little by little so it won't be missed. I put all of our supplies in the tool shed I found out in the woods. Everything has been careful saved until next year when Katiness comes of age for the reapings.

This year, though, this year I have to be sure that the rumors are true. If we leave, there is no turning back. That's where the mines come in. I have been searching for any truth of district 13 for years, but just last week three miners went into this old abandoned shaft and they never came back. None of them had families; they were loners, which makes me suspicious. "They found something. Some kind of underground tunnel system, and off the grid path; disappeared right down that tunnel" Tim whispered to me one day when he noticed I was staring at it. He leaned in close when he spoke, whispered it in my ear. "Where does it go?" I ask. "I don't know Mr., but I've got a pretty good idea." He replies. "Don't you think about going down there though. They know, the capital they do. The guard it especially well now. It doesn't look like it, but there are cameras. They're hiding something there. And they will do anything to keep us from seeing what's in it."Ever since then I have been mapping out a plan of how I can get into the tunnel. I haven't figured it out yet, but I intend to soon.

My mind wanders as I chip away the coal into my bucket. The peacekeepers are working us extra hard these days, so I can't afford to fall behind. My family will be expecting me home soon. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of movement. As I spin around, I see a small band of new miners running for the forbidden cave entrance. "No," I cry out. But I am too late. They immediately drop to the ground, dead, bullets right through their heads. But that is not the worst of it. There is an alarm, and I hear a man's voice announcing over the speaker. A chill runs down my spine. I would know that voice anywhere. "Miners, you would do well to listen to the warnings that we have given you, but I am afraid it is too late for that for a few of you. Now listen to me when I say that all abandoned mine tunnels are off limits. They are dangerous; we are doing it for your own safety."

" YOU LIAR!" I hear a voice scream. Another young miner drops his ax and walks to the center of the main room. There is hatred in his eyes. "You don't care about us, your hiding something in there. There's a reason why you're guarding that tunnel! And Listen to me, President Snow, they are going to kill you. They are going to kill you all just like you have killed our children!" He yells up. "District 13 is back! And they are going to destroy you!" I feel a pain in my gut as I look over at Tim. I have a feeling what is going to come next as I hear President Snow's laugh over the microphone. "You're a smart one, Mr. Turner. It's too bad that you couldn't keep your mouth shut. How unfortunate for all of you here. It's too bad we'll have to give the news to your families about your,.. Unfortunate accident." He hisses. I don't hesitate; I've already figured it out. I run to the entrance to the tunnel just as I hear the rumbling start. I dive into the entrance just as our cave room goes up in flames and smoke. "Ruth, Prim, Katiness," I think to myself as my eyelids become heavy and I start to close my eyes. My head is throbbing and spinning. "I'm so sorry" then I finally collapse and let the heaviness take over me.

** To be continued…. Please tell me what you think!**


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